This week is a non-travel week for me. And like every other non travel week, I've been crazy busy.



Shelby right before her first performance


This week Shelby had three talent show performances. She did a hula hoop routine. Totally her idea and choreographed by her and Daddy.  

We're looking for a new school for Shelby, so I have been touring schools and filling out applications (edited: we found a charter school we love and they just added an additional second grade class, so she's no longer wait-listed .. she's in!!! Her class will be just 10 to 12 kids. And Coop is going to go to the preschool they offer at an adjoining campus).

We've been working on the backyard. It looks better than it has in ages. The old trampoline is all broken down and gone. The garden is cleaned out and replanted.

Of course there are all the normal, every day sort of tasks ... laundry, homework, grocery shopping, etc. I still have two baskets of laundry to fold and at least three more to wash. How do we go through so much laundry.

And I've been scrapping like a mad woman (I'm doing LOAD again, so I've been creating at the very least a layout a day).

Here's a peek at some of my favorite layouts of the last week or so ...

The layout above was for today (LOAD20). I took the picture last night while sitting with Shelby at her last talent show performance. She said, "Mom, let's see how much we can squish our noses together." So we did. We giggled, a lot. And I got a picture of us doing it.  I'm using this photo for my self portrait this week (week 20).

This layout was for LOAD day 19. I took the phone on my iPhone while Shelby and I were at Color Me Mine. 

 Journaling reads:

Shelby and I spent a few hours at Color Me Mine yesterday. I had a gift certificate Mike gave me for Christmas that was just begging to be used. Shelby was thrilled to have a mother + daughter date and was especially excited since it included something crafty. As we painted (a ceramic monkey) and chatted, I had a thought: It’s moments like this that confirm my decision to not have any more children. We firmly decided last year that we were going to have just two kids ... the two fabulous kids we have. Don’t get me wrong, there are days I think “well, maybe we’ll have just one more.” But then I am blessed to have special one-on-one time with my girl and I think “this is perfect.” With two kids I get to give them each a ton of attention. I can take the big one to paint and the little one to the park. I can spend valuable time reading with both of them,. Growing up in a big family, I loved having lots of siblings, but there were definitely times when I wished I had more attention, especially one-on-one attention from my parents.  Though I’ll miss having a little baby, more so now that Coop is becoming big boy, I am so grateful for all the precious time I have with the two wonderful babies I do have.

This photo was my self portrait for week 19. It was taken on my iPhone while sitting at a stop light!

Journaling reads:

When I look at this photo, I have so much trouble looking at it without obsessing over the wrinkles that have started to crop up around my eyes. Aging is really beginning to bother me. It never did, but now all of the sudden, it’s a huge issue for me. I inspect my wrinkles all the time. But what I should be focusing on is this picture is of someone who works really hard. Someone who travels all over the world and has seen great things through her travels. Someone who takes great care of her children and loves them more than life itself. Someone who tries to be a good wife. Someone who loves to create art and tries each to to make something beautiful. Wrinkles will come. It’s
inevitable. I have to get over it. But all the other stuff that makes me great ... that’s what matters.

Journaling reads: